“Dear Gabbie” is written with the simple hope of bringing a few smiles to your day and is not meant to replace the advice of professionals…especially your mom!

Dear Gabbie:

I was behind a driver towing a wide load. Why did he need to go 20 miles under the speed limit? … Why have drivers stopped using their turn signals? … Why are drivers looking at their phones when they should be watching the road?

Signed,

Question Congestion

Dear Question Congestion,

First, I should explain, the questions above came from three different submissions. Yes, dear readers, if ever we were to pick a topic that generates the most “pet peeves,” it would have to be driving.

I am of the opinion that, in general, driving peeves require the patience of both the peeved and the peever! By that I mean, if you are someone who regularly forgets, or just flat out refuses, to use your turn signal, well, you need to do something about that. On the other hand, if you’re the one getting peeved by someone not using their turn signal, perhaps it would lower your blood pressure if you thought of each case as an exception to the rule. In other words, maybe this is the one and only time that person forgot to use his turn signal.

I once recall arriving home very exasperated because I had been forced out of my lane so a driver could pass me at a ridiculously high rate of speed. When I shared this with “Mr. Gabbie,” he reminded me of a time I had rushed home because I thought I had left the teakettle turned on on the stove (thankfully, I had not). Since that time, I try to give other drivers the benefit of the doubt.

Wouldn’t it be nice if passing an optional Courtesy Quiz resulted in your car tabs costing $10 less when you register your vehicle? Or maybe there’s a market for products that could help us be kinder, gentler drivers. I’ve often thought having two horns on our vehicles would be great—one that sounds like a soft “beep-beep” when you want to gently remind someone that the light has turned green and it’s OK to go. The other would be a loud HONKKKK! to signal people when something dangerous is about to happen.

For certain, one thing we can all do is strive to be kinder on the road so as not to drive people crazy—even if it puts me out of a job!

Gabbie